Everything After - A 9.11 Youth Circle - Where have all the flowers gone?

You have probably seen the famous picture of a hippie-chick sticking a flower in the barrel of a soldier's gun during Vietnam. This is a powerful symbol of the anti-war movement during the '60s and '70s.

Then, during the Persian Gulf War, pacifists participated in large-scale demonstrations. Celebraties like author Barbara Kingsolver spoke out adamently against the war.

So. . .

Where, now, are the demonstrators? We have heard hardly a peep from the peace-lovers. I want your opinion: why is the current "war" going almost uncontended? In the wake of Sept. 11th, do Americans feel it "unpatriotic" to speak out against the eye-for-an-eye policy? Have the government's extensions of power made protesting impossible? Is it because, unlike in Vietnam, there has been no draft; no conscientious objectors; no one fleeing to Canada? Or is it simply that the flower children have all grown up and gone to Florida?

Lol I lvoe the flower children going to florida bit. But I think people are fed up with Osama BIn Laden doing terrorist attacks. 9/11 wasnt his first. I also think that people are really agreeing with whats going on. Anther thing is that the people of Afghanistan arent being treated as harshly as they would have if 9/11 was in the 50s or even earlier. THe U.S. government doesnt want to hurt AFghanistan but people of Terrorism . U.S. government also has been dropping food and supplies to help, i also think that people are restless.

I have been trying to organize something like the demonstrations mentioned. But I don't know how, and I don't know what good it would do. I am somewhat a pacifist, except that I accept that war and violence are inevitable. But this war is not inevitable! The steps the Bush administration is taking that are against our constitutional rights are not necessary! If anyone knows anything about organizing EFFECTIVE peace rallies etc., oooh, we need your help!

I know I tend to blame a lot on the media but I think they really carry much of the blame for the uniformity of thought in America right now. What we read, hear and see dictates so much of our opinions, because these are our only sources of information.

Americans are not going to go stand in Afghanistan to see how many civilians are killed; we can't listen in on Dubya's private conversations with the cabinet to see what they're really scheming. We are told exactly and only what the gov't wants us to hear.

So-called "foreign correspondants" stand there in Kabul and get some poor dude with no shoes to tell us how much he hates Mullah Omar, or else they read what Donald Rumsfeld said in a press briefing earlier. Some investigation.

Sure you can hunt up alternative press on the Internet, but they generally have some point that they want to prove, and as we all know if you start with your opinion and work your way to the evidence, you can prove whatever you want. We have no way of verifying what we hear and no reason to trust those who tell it to us.

Our viewpoint in this country has become as bland and unimaginative as a hamburger, and all in the name of unity and patriotism. People should be free to have whatever opinion they want, and if they truly agree then that's fine. But if we are to truly make up are minds, we must be exposed to a variety of viewpoints-- and to the uncensored, unbiast truth.